TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY OF SMALLHOLDER POULTRY FARMERS IN AKURE SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, ONDO STATE, NIGERIA

The study examined the technical efficiency of smallholder poultry farmers in Akure South Local Government Area, Ondo State, Nigeria. The study used a multi-stage sampling procedure to select eighty respondents with the aid of structured questionnaire. The primary data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics, budgeting analysis and the stochastic frontier production function model. Findings revealed that majority (65%) of the respondents were male. The mean age of the respondents was 40 years. About 66.3% of the respondents were married and majority (85.0%) of the respondents were literate with at least primary school education. The mean of farming experience was 7years, indicating that most of the farmers were new entrants into the poultry business. The findings indicated that poultry production by smallholder farmers was a profitable enterprise in the study area. The results of the stochastic frontier analysis revealed that farming experience, access to credit facilities, membership of cooperative association and extension contact influenced the technical efficiency of smallholder poultry farmers in the study area. It was therefore, recommended that government should work on providing credit access to farmers while also stimulating agricultural extension programs through educational and research institutions. Also, farmers should come together often so that they can pool resources together and easily get the government's attention.